News: Villanueva has been told that he will make the 25-man roster out of camp, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports.

Impact: While Villanueva's career as a starter fizzled out, he has complied a 3.55 ERA and 439 strikeouts in 439 career innings as a reliever. He should slot in as the Cardinals' long reliever, pitching mostly in low-leverage situations.

StatsLLC: Mar 30 / 12:00a ET

News: The St. Louis Cardinals have told reliever Carlos Villanueva he will be on their 25-man opening-day roster.

Impact: The 31-year-old right-hander agreed to a minor league contract in February and had the right to request his release if not added to the roster by Monday. He will get a $2 million, one-year contract and the chance to earn $500,000 in performance bonuses: $250,000 each for three and six starts.

Rotowire: Feb 4 / 10:18a ET

News: Villanueva signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals on Wednesday that includes an invite to spring training, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Impact: Villanueva started five games for the Cubs in 2014, but made most of his appearances out of the bullpen and finished the season with a 4.64 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with 72 strikeouts over 77.2 innings. He will likely battle for a bullpen spot out of spring training, with the ability to be a spot starter for the Cardinals if needed.

StatsLLC: Feb 4 / 12:00a ET

News: Villanueva has agreed to a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. The 31-year-old will attend big league spring training, which opens Feb. 19. He is 45-50 with a 4.26 ERA in nine seasons with Milwaukee, Toronto and the Chicago Cubs.

Impact: Villanueva was 5-7 with a 4.64 ERA in five starts and 37 relief appearances with the Cubs last season, striking out 72 in 77 2-3 innings. His career record as a reliever is 27-17 with a 3.55 ERA in 314 appearances.